Chapter Six: Who Surrounded Whom?

“Believe me, if we don’t evacuate immediately, it will be too late.” Hearing the alarm, Deng Lei grew even more certain of his judgment.

“Trust me, we have the capability to handle this situation.” Zhao Qiang patted Deng Lei on the shoulder and turned to run outside.

As Deng Lei had suspected, Deng Sen was orchestrating a military operation against Changsha Prison. Although time was tight and he hadn’t secured enough fuel to launch a proper assault, Deng Lei’s disappearance forced him to accelerate the plan. After all, Changsha Prison could serve as a decent base.

The distance between Changsha and Xiangtan was not as far as imagined—less than 40 kilometers. This was why the integration process of the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan region had been ongoing. The fuel Deng Sen found was enough to allow him and his entire armored force to conduct a one-way raid. Even though his armored units lacked sufficient ammunition, Deng Sen could not imagine what strength a prison could possess to halt this steel tide.

Deng Sen greatly enjoyed the feeling of his tank crushing the bodies of the Smashers beneath its treads. When running over ordinary zombies, the tank felt nothing, but the shock from rolling over these massive, powerful creatures was incomparable.

Right now, Deng Sen was reveling in sitting inside the latest main battle tank, cigar in mouth, freely blowing smoke rings, feeling the Smashers being crushed into meat patties. Holding binoculars and surveying what would soon be his new home, he thought there was nothing more alluring than this.

In fact, Deng Sen’s mind conjured the classic image of General Patton, except he wouldn’t lose his life to an unexpected accident. “Attack!” Deng Sen waved his hand decisively, setting his sights directly on Changsha Prison.

“Tremble before my steel tide!” Deng Sen gazed eagerly at the prison gates. It wouldn’t be long before that seemingly solid gate came crashing down. This magnificent—yes, magnificent—prison would become his forward base, and the people inside would be forever consigned to history.

But before that, he decided to offer the poor souls inside a chance. If they submitted under his feet, Deng Sen wouldn’t mind having them serve him. With that thought, he activated the speakers mounted on his tank: “To those inside, you are surrounded. Open the gates and give up your futile resistance. We guarantee your safety. Of course, I wouldn’t mind wiping you all out.” He cut off the speaker before uttering the last sentence, making it sound more like a muttered aside.

In Deng Sen’s view, with these steel beasts behind him, no one would dare resist. Though lacking ammunition, the poor souls inside didn’t know that, did they? It seemed the prison was managed quite well—the countless dead zombies at the gate were proof. Rather than destroying it and then expending great effort to rebuild, it would be more cost-effective to persuade them to surrender and smoothly take over an intact prison—if they knew what was good for them.

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After waiting a long time and just as Deng Sen was about to lose patience, the prison’s tightly shut gate creaked open slowly.

It appeared there were still many wise people in this world! A victorious smile curled at Deng Sen’s lips. The opening of the gate meant the prison’s compromise, bringing him one step closer to his goal.

Soon, Deng Sen and his steel tide passed through the gate and entered the prison grounds. As the conqueror, he paid no attention to the fact that the gate closed immediately behind them, and the welcoming crowd he had imagined did not appear. The prison was cold and quiet, like a ghost town.

They must be scared, Deng Sen thought. As a conqueror, he didn’t mind this discourtesy from the prison side—it would only make his future governance easier. No, “rule” seemed a more fitting word.

Deng Sen was still lost in his conqueror’s dream when a sudden white streak in the sky caught his attention.

“What’s that?” Deng Sen was puzzled. It looked like a cylindrical object trailing a long white smoke tail, heading closer and closer toward him.

Soon, Deng Sen got the answer. A Toyota car parked not far away was struck by that cylindrical object, instantly turning into a blazing orange fireball. The massive explosion sent shockwaves so strong they blew away the half-smoked cigar from Deng Sen’s fingers.

“Deng Sen?” voices came from all directions, cutting through the crackling roar of the blazing fire.

“Who?” Deng Sen was clearly still reeling from the shock of the explosion. He tried to recall what had caused the scene just now. An RPG? Deng Sen thought such things only appeared in American war movies, where those damn US pilots always dramatically shouted such words.

“Is there any reason for me to be afraid? This is China’s most advanced main battle tank, equipped with the best reactive armor. The factory data never lies; RPGs can’t harm my tank.”

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“Deng Sen, I know you’re there.” The voice on the broadcast was emotionless. Seeing no response from Jiang Lu’s side, it continued: “Surprised? Believe me, we have many more of those things like just now. If you don’t believe me, look up and look around.”

“Do you think I’m stupid?” Deng Sen grabbed the communicator and sneered, “If I open the hatch, you can kill me right away, and that will achieve your goal.”

“We have no reason to lie to you. Besides, your brother Deng Lei is right here with me. If you don’t believe me, you should believe your brother.”

Deng Lei! That wretched man—he really came and leaked my plan! Once I get here, I will deal with you properly! The brothers had lost their parents and all their family in this disaster. Deng Sen could not bear to see his own brother harmed and refused to believe the words came willingly.

“Brother, give up. What they say is true. If you continue, you’ll get us all killed.” Deng Lei’s voice trembled slightly. Sitting in his wheelchair, he could clearly see that everything said on the prison side was true.

“No, brother, you must have been kidnapped. They want to swallow us up. Brother, trust me, I will definitely rescue you.” Deng Sen’s eyes reddened. His own brother in enemy hands—those people must have forced him to say those things.

“Deng Sen, listen. We don’t want to hurt you. As long as you lay down your weapons and come out of your vehicles, I personally guarantee you a fair and just treatment. No one will harm you.” The earlier voice returned, sounding confident and domineering.

“Boss, you better come out and see. They’re not lying.” A terrified voice came over the internal comms. The earlier show of force from the prison had deeply shaken everyone in the convoy. The broadcasted conversation also reached their ears. Unlike Deng Sen’s madness and confidence, they were scared—scared that the next rocket wouldn’t hit a poor Toyota but themselves. So they heeded the prison’s advice and cautiously peeked out to survey their surroundings.